


One In Four

by R_E_R6



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Crack, Drunken Confessions, Drunkenness, Love Confessions, M/M, Pre-Relationship, The alcohol stole Buck's brain, he gets there eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26066869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_E_R6/pseuds/R_E_R6
Summary: Buck is drunk and remembers being told that, statically, one in four people are on the lgbt+ spectrum.  The problem? Eddie can't possibly be one of them. Or so he thinks.Eventually he sees sense.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 317





	One In Four

**Author's Note:**

  * For [firstdegreefangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/firstdegreefangirl/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!!!!
> 
> Here is drunk Buck as promised :D...

The team sit stunned, their smiles fading when they notice the downhearted pout that has taken over Buck's mouth and the way his eyes remain fixed to the floor. 

"What's wrong, Buckaroo?" Hen asks, cutting through the silence that has fallen around them. 

Buck gives a small shrug but doesn't look up, nor does he give any explanation for his sudden sullenness. The team look amongst each other, confusion heavy as it weaves between them, before all eyes settle on Maddie. Seeing she has been silently nominated to deal with her drunken brother, Maddie rolls her eyes and crouches down to his eyeline. 

"Evan, are you okay?"

This time he shakes his head and Maddie's own mood begins to sink as she wonders what could possibly be wrong. When she asks for an explanation, the room remains silent around them for an awkward beat. Then, Buck throws his head back and a dreary whine leaves his lips before he speaks with a groan.

"There are too many gays, Mads." 

Maddie's neck reels back, as do a few others around the room, half from shock and half from confusion.

"Say what now?" Athena asks incredulously. 

Buck sighs again, a rough sound thick with pure frustration, and then gestures wildly with uncoordinated limbs. He almost takes out Bobby and Chim before he finally finds who he is looking for and stills with his hand outstretched towards Hen and Karen, fingers splayed as if emphasising his point. 

"Hen and Karen are both here, that's two gays. There are too many now 'Thena, Chim said." 

Chimney raises both hands defensively as his denial rushes out. "I said no such thing."

"Yes you did!" Buck insists with narrowed eyes. "You said one in four. Now Hen and Karen are two out of eight and I'm sad. When is it gonna be Eddie?" 

That does little to clear up the confusion and one again there is a round of questioning looks amongst those surrounding the man slumped on the couch. 

"Is he going to make sense at some point?" Karen asks, which Bobby seconds with a curious hum. "Maybe we should get Eddie."

In the end, it's Hen that crouches beside Maddie a few moments later because Eddie is still outside on the phone saying goodnight to Christopher. She places one hand on his shoulder and the other on his knee, making sure she has all his attention before speaking. 

"Buck, why don't you start at the beginning, huh? I don't understand what you mean."

Buck rolls his eyes and looks put out by the request but he does sit up and stare straight at Chimney. 

"You said one in four people isn't straight. It's statistics, Chimney, facts." 

Chimney looks thoughtful for a second before nodding along slowly, "Yeah that was weeks ago, Buck, why does that have you so sad now."

"Because I just realised it's never Eddie, Chim," he whines pathetically, "Hen is always there or Josh is there or someone is there. I just wish it was Eddie but I know that's selfish and I'm an asshole but I can't help it. He's so hot."

For a moment nobody speaks. Then, Hen lets out a sharp cackle that she tries to cover with her hand. 

"Henrietta don't laugh at the poor boy," Karen scolds, though her own eyes widen and she sucks in her lips to hide her own amusement. 

Athena is next to speak and she is definitely more exasperated than humoured. "Oh my God I can't believe this fool. How much has he had to drink?"

"Too much by the sounds of it," Bobby says slowly, not quite sure of how to react. 

Maddie's mouth opens and closes but she's not sure what to say either and so no words come out. Chimney is the last to realise what is happening and his own laughter bubbles over uncontrollably which, in turn, causes Hen to lose control again. 

"It's not funny," Buck pouts indignantly, "It's not nice to laugh when my heart is hurting. You guys just don't get it. If Eddie isn't the one who isn't straight then he can't ever love me back."

That sobers everyone up immediately and Chimney's mouth forms a guilty grimace. Buck has never indicated that he's attracted to men before and now suddenly this conversation feels incredibly intrusive. 

"Buck, maybe you should sober up a bit, I'm not sure you'd be happy about telling us all this if you weren't so drunk right now," Bobby suggests quickly as they hear footsteps coming down the hallway. "How about I get you some water?" 

"I don't need water, I just need Eddie to like men."

The footsteps stop suddenly, the last one hitting harder against the wooden floors. It's clear to everyone that Eddie has heard Buck's final outburst and when they turn, he's frozen mid-stride with one foot through the living room doorway.

"What the hell did I miss?" 

Silence. Then more silence. How do they explain this away? How do they take back the last few minutes and save Buck from blurting out his feelings? Clearly Buck doesn't plan on taking anything back though as he looks Eddie right in the eyes. 

"Hen and Karen are lesbians so that's two out of eight, which means you are straight and won't love me back and now I'm sad."

Oh God, maybe someone else  _ should _ have said something. 

"I think maybe we should start cleaning up," Athena suggests, "and someone get Buck a glass of water immediately." 

With that everyone but Maddie begins shuffling around, picking up plates and glasses all while hoping the bustle of movement will distract from what just happened. Well, other than Eddie who remains frozen in the doorway for long enough that Buck has already gulped down half a glass by the time he comes back to his senses. He still can't get Buck's words out of his head as they somersault through his brain, stirring up a million different emotions he doesn't know how to sort through. Buck is still looking at him though, so one ever-present feeling remains stronger than all others. 

Love.

Maddie is talking softly to her brother but Buck doesn't seem to be listening. Instead he and Eddie are locked onto each other, as if nothing else exists in the room but them and the feelings that filter from them both and swirl together in the air. Slowly, as if being pulled by an invisible force, Eddie finds himself slowly stepping closer. Buck is very drunk, that much is obvious, but Eddie can't help the hope washing over him as Buck continues to look at him, his eyes an open book. If there's a chance Buck means what he's saying and wants Eddie back, then surely Eddie owes it to himself to take that chance.

"Buck."

Eddie sounds breathless, even to his own ears. It's surprising that anyone hears him but Buck and Maddie clearly do. If the sudden stillness behind them is anything to go by, it would seem everyone else heard too. He doesn't bother to check. He can't possibly look away now that he's been sucked into the depth of those ocean blue eyes. Buck's eyes, much like the rest of him, are breathtakingly beautiful and Eddie could quite happily stare at them all night.

"Eddie, why is it only one in four? I wish you weren't straight too, I'm sorry if that's selfish."

It seems Buck's filter has made no effort to return since Eddie entered the room and Maddie winces a little beside them, clearly wishing she could find a way to make him stop talking. 

"Buck, are you talking about the statistical ratio of straight people to LGBT+ people?"

Buck shoots gim a winning smile before turning to Maddie.

"See, Eddie gets it," he brags smugly before turning back to Eddie and nodding his confirmation, "It's one in four. That means two people here aren't straight and Hen and Karen are both lesbians so  _ statistically _ everyone else is straight."

"And you don't want me to be straight," Eddie repeats. Buck nods his head twice before leaning back with a shrug and Eddie shakes his head fondly. Buck is always a fun drunk and its not odd for him to say some things that are less than intelligent, but Eddie has never seen him quite like this. "You're going to be so embarrassed about this in the morning, Buck."

"Probably," the drunken man agrees and Eddie grins back. Maddie snorts in amusement too but says nothing else as she lets Eddie continue.

"Buck, why do you want me to like men? Think really hard."

"That's easy," Buck states without hesitation, "I love you and if you don't like men then you can't love me back."

Eddie tries to keep his face neutral, not wanting Buck to think he's mocking him in his vulnerable state. He also doesn't want to get carried away and blurt out his feelings too. Eddie definitely wants Buck to be in his right mind when he tells him how much he adores him.

"Okay good. So why is that Buck?"

"Because you're amazing."

That causes Eddie's ears to turn pink and he ducks his head bashfully before meeting Buck's eyes again.

"Thank you but that's not what I meant. How about I put it like this, are you attracted to me?"

"Duh."

"Okay, so does that mean  _ you _ aren't straight?"

"Obviously, Eddie. I'm clearly bisexual, everyone knows that."

By the disbelieving snorts across the room it's evident that isn't as commonly known as Buck seems to believe but Eddie decides to let it go. He needs to stay on track if he's going to help drunk Buck come to this realisation. 

"Great. So now, including you, how many people in this room do you know for a fact aren't straight."

"Hen and Karen," Buck says immediately. Then, when Eddie nods encouragingly and Maddie points at him, he thinks for a second and finally says, "oh, and me. So three."

"So three out of eight people."

Buck's eyes widen, "but it's only supposed to be too, Chim said so!"

Chim lets out a long suffering sigh from the kitchen, expressing his regret for ever uttering that statistic. From now on he's leaving all statistics to Buck. 

"A statistic is just a generalisation, Buck, you know that." Maddie's explanation comes out softly and Buck nods along in agreement as she continues speaking. "Just because it says one in four, that doesn't mean only two people here can be interested in a same sex relationship. Do you agree with that now?"

"Yeah, that makes sense."

Maddie smiles and pats Buck's leg before standing triumphantly. Once she's straightened out her skirt she looks down at Eddie and shoots him a look to convey its all up to him now. She then turns and walks away, snapping her fingers at the others and redirecting them all to other tasks in an attempt to give them more privacy. Eddie takes a deep breath and places his hand on Buck's shoulder to gain his attention again. 

"So," he begins, feeling nerves prickle at his skin for reasons he can't comprehend. Buck clearly has feelings for him too so surely this confession shouldn't feel so daunting. "given that we now know there isn't a set limit here, do you think it's possible that I'm not as straight as you thought?"

Buck is completely still, then he blinks rapidly three times, then he stares wide-eyed as his mouth falls open just slightly.

"Oh," he breathes finally, stretching out the word. 

"Yeah, oh," Eddie repeats.

The corner of Buck’s lips twitch up towards his cheeks, which are now thinly dusted with pink. He clearly realises how stupid he's been in his drunken state but luckily he doesn't look too bothered by the mistake. 

"So you do like guys," he checks. When Eddie confirms, Buck bites his lip and looks past Eddie’s shoulder with a smile. "Good. That's good."

"Yeah, it is," Eddie agrees, "and maybe when you're sober, we can have a different conversation about that. For now though, how about I drive you home?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. The ride home and the conversation. Hopefully a conversation where you liking guys also means liking me, which is where I think this is going. That is where this is going, right?"

"Yeah Buck, that's where this is going as long as you still want that tomorrow."

Buck slaps his own thighs with an enthusiastic grin before dragging himself to his feet and pulling Eddie with him.

"Great. Then I can't wait for tomorrow, let's go."

As they make their way through the house, hand in hand, Eddie tries to ignore all of the knowing looks from their friends. If he looks any of them in the eye right now he'll leave here looking like a stoplight. Buck, however, waves happily to everyone as they pass and stops abruptly when they get to Maddie so he can pull her into a hug, pulling Eddie's arm with him.

"Bye, Mads, I'm going home with Eddie."

Eddie clears his throat to hide the choking sound that emerges from his throat at the implication. 

"To sober up and sleep," he adds. Buck looks no less pleased and continues grinning adorably beside him.

"Goodnight, Buck," Maddie laughs before turning to Eddie and pulling him into a hug too. He isn't expecting it, and leans in awkwardly while trying to avoid the small bump baby she's developed. "You as well, Eddie. Take care of my baby brother."

Her tone as well as the look she gives him to go with the words makes him think she means more than just the ride home. He pulls away with a determined smile and nods reassuringly.

"Always, I promise."

  
  
  
  



End file.
